Every year or so my family tends to have accumulated a collection of waste that can not be thrown out in the normal trash and recycling bins. Things like old paint cans, electronics, scrap wood, and small furniture items are a bit difficult to dispose of, and while it is easy to get rid of furniture during bulk trash pick up month, the other things need to be taken to our local transfer station, which is luckily only a few minutes from my house. Using the transfer station puts a little more responsibility on us as we need to make sure what we’re bringing there is accepted, and we need to make sure what we are bringing is separated as needed before we get there. In addition, it should also be light/small enough that machinery isn’t needed in order to put it in the bins (unless the workers are aware and prepared for what you’re bringing). Using the past summer as an example, I had to bring two boxes of old paint cans, three broken computers, and a box of scrap wood to the station. Before leaving, I made sure the items were organized in my car so that it would be quick and easy to dispose of them, and I also removed staples and nails from the wood in case metal and wood needed to be separated. When I got there, it was my responsibility to put the waste into the correct locations. The waste was my responsibility up until I left the facility, and from there, it became the responsibility of the waste workers to transport and process the waste. While I don’t know a lot about how waste is processed in waste facilities, I imagine the wood is turned into woodchips, mulch, or shavings in order to give it another use, and metal is salvaged and melted down.